Gentle Dawn
by miwata
Summary: [KitexElk] Some pointless fluffy stuff, for now. :P Lonely and bored, Elk is called to a snow field by a fellow player, only to discover that it's Kite.


[Both my first .hack fic, and my first shounen ai/boyxboy/whatever it's called fic. :P It's taken me a good deal of time to shape this chapter up, but expect more to come in the future. Feedback and suggestions would be appreciated.  
  
Gah... I can't believe I actually wrote this. Every time I read it over I just seem to find something else I don't like about it. xD Well, read on, and I hope you enjoy it.]  
  
.  
  
The simulated world came out on top when compared to the real world, and was infinitely more beautiful to boot. Aside from the occasional run-in with fellow players in the tens of thousands of vast scenarios and keyword-defined levels, or a friendly greeting or two in a server's boisterous root town, it was a world completely isolated from other people and the awkward meetings and greetings coined as "interaction". It gave "The World" an appeal like no other; it was a retreat to a location where one was surrounded by people and yet was not obliged to pay them any notice. You could exist in whatever setting you pleased and change your mind on a whim, in one instant padding across the scorching sands of a desert and in the next watching in awe as pixels settled to create an arctic portrait before your eyes. It was like heaven removed from someone's wildest fantasy.  
  
It was wonderful, fantastic, groundbreaking. A feat of electronic programming, to be blunt, and when it came to bridging the gap between human and machine it did a magnificent job. However, it failed to reach the level of promoting human on human contact and conversation, doing very much the opposite.  
  
Consequently, how you viewed it was a matter of personal preference. Some people saw it as a retreat from real-life problems, while others used it for pure pleasure or just for the sake of playing the game. On a whole, most people saw "The World" in a similar fashion; as an escape, whether or not you chose to acknowledge the real world and the fake as two entirely different things.  
  
The World was a thing that required some getting used to. Any normal person would not be able to interact very much with his or her surroundings in a way that felt "natural"; in other words, when they reached out to pluck a flower or raised their eyes to the sky, they were merely feeling simulated impulses sent through special equipment or seeing images displayed through virtual goggles. Brushing up against something created a sensation similar to one felt in real life, though lacking in the characteristic texture or warmth given from an object. Once you'd gotten used to these minor flaws, adjustment to the game was simple, just as it was easy to forget yourself in a world that was almost a fairytale. Recently, however, "The World" had been plagued by many server problems, injuring various users and scaring many others away.  
  
That fact didn't stop one particular blue-haired wavemaster from enjoying a peaceful day of wandering on his own in the expansive meadow-like stage he'd discovered the Mac Anu server. In all truth, the forests and meadows were his favorite places to be, mainly because they contained an element of serenity and provided him with the satisfaction of being surrounded by living things. Padding lazily over long tendrils of grass and boisterous flowers coming into full bloom, he sauntered through the low-level Wood area waiting for something interesting to happen, or for Mia to come online.  
  
"I'm lonely," he said out loud, to nobody in particular. Birds fluttered in a nearby tree, branches swayed in the gentle breeze, yet nothing hinted toward a reply. He repeated it several times.  
  
Not paying very much attention to his surroundings and lost on this particularly consuming train of thought, Elk stumbled over a rock and was sent face-first into the Spring of Myst, startling and flushing out the indignant water spirit. He really did wish that he couldn't feel the water, that it could merely become a part of the simulation characterized by tiny shocks of electricity sent up through the body from the player's attire. To his dismay the water folded around him, cold and rippling from the force of his fall, seeping through his clothing and into his mouth as he cried out in shock. The strange urge to laugh at himself for doing something so stupid, just to find a reason to degrade himself, crept through his mind. Today wasn't going well at all, though it might have helped if he gave enough of a damn to pay attention to where he was walking.  
  
The spirit was scanning the bottom of the spring impassively, meeting Elk's surprised eyes with a look of utter boredom and lethargy. "You know," it began in an exaggerated drawl, its mouth barely moving and plastered with a twisted smile, "they say that drowning is quite similar to choking to death; losing air isn't a pleasant way to go, not at all. On that vein, I'd ask if you'd remove yourself from my spring so that I can go back to sleep. It won't suit to rest in a pool of water with a dead body floating around, having had to watch you suffocate beforehand." For the longest time the boy didn't move, and merely stared through the translucent body of the water spirit while he struggled to understand what it had just told him. At length he pulled himself from the pool, coughing and sputtering, and lay down at its side to catch his breath. His chest beat in and out erratically, and yet he could not focus his thoughts enough to grasp his surroundings.  
  
After convincing himself that the spirits living in the Spring of Myst were morbid, unnatural creatures he'd much rather avoid than confront, Elk pulled himself to his knees and peered curiously into the vast expanse of foliage that surrounded him. Unable to locate Mia earlier that day, he'd carelessly entered a series of keywords at the chaos gate and had found himself wandering a field with very few enemies, an excellent level for a lone wavemaster. Not that he could ever find Mia these days; even though he was learning to cope without her, yesterday had been particularly rough on him offline and he wanted someone to soothe him and laugh at his life alongside him.  
  
Now that he'd recovered his wits, Elk struggled to find his footing and shook off any lingering moisture, preparing to gate out and return to Mac Anu for another afternoon of trading and denying requests to join stranger's parties.  
  
Or, he would have, if he hadn't lost his staff somewhere along the way in his reverie. He could only sigh and begin to search the surrounding area for the familiar weapon, hoping he could find it before a stray enemy chose to attack, leaving him to fight with tooth and nail or run like hell. Logic told him that it would reappear anyways if he gated out, but he also valued the fact that searching for it would waste some time.  
  
Clothes still clinging to his body and the green paint on his cheeks incurably smudged, Elk glanced around with very little interest in what he was doing, his eyes half-lidded and downcast. It seemed that the more he wandered through The World, the slower time passed. His hat still perched gently on the top of his head, and from under it ran tendrils of sky-blue hair, also soaked and clinging to his cheeks. Small splatters of green paint clung to his bangs, mixed with the moisture from his fall into the spring to create a very thin liquid that ran in trails down to his chin. It took roughly twenty minutes of searching to locate the staff, but when he finally laid eyes on it he gave a raspy giggle and quickened his pace.  
  
The staff rested in plain sight next to a bouncy creature Elk mistook for a small foe, making a frightened noise in his throat and throwing himself onto the ground to grab his weapon. He whapped the thing on top of the head, awaiting its reaction in suspense. The mushroom-like creature gave a startled cry and cowered under its thick, brightly-colored hood. Recognizing the Grunty food, Elk grinned sheepishly and then stood up, only to dust the dirt off of his clothing and raise his staff in order to gate out. His body was immediately enveloped by golden rings and he closed his eyes, comforted by the golden glow and waiting for Mac Anu to appear in the place of the field.  
  
Thus began a normal day in "The World", once Elk had recovered his mislaid weapon and came to rest at the chaos gate in Mac Anu, blinking away his dazed reaction at the abnormally tiny number of people running through its ancient streets and rejoicing that the gate had managed to dry him, even if his hair and tattoos were still a mess. Several shopkeepers were lounging lazily behind their counters, lacking any business to attend to at that time. There were no familiar faces to be found, and Elk gave up on finding any after several trips around the main sector of the town. He chose to wander until someone came to escort him into a dungeon for some new items; it would probably prove more interesting and productive than logging off and having to deal with his family.  
  
Small groups of people had gathered in various parts of town, chatting amongst themselves and sharing recent accomplishments or defeats. Their scattered voices didn't give the area its usual buzzing background, providing it instead with an empty fascia. Without people, crowds and varieties of people of all shapes and voices, the world lost its appeal and seemed to be an utterly lonesome and hollow place. Random users worked very well as background props in this world, none with much of a purpose but all with something interesting to say to lend atmosphere to the water capital. The lack of noise accentuated the sound of rippling water, bringing back memories of earlier events at the Spring of Myst and the same feeling of shock and violation as when he'd fallen into the pond. For a brief, panicked moment Elk felt that he was drowning, only to open his eyes and discover that he was walking on the bridge over Mac Anu's main river.  
  
People filled in the fine gaps in the wall of "The World", he mused. Let's face it; a World without people might seem like a fantasy for some, but you never truly understand it until you're forced to face the day alone. His eyes wandered to the groups that were gathering around him on the bridge.  
  
"What're you doing tonight?" asked a bouncy female wavemaster a few feet away, clinging to the arm of her male blademaster counterpart eagerly. He shrugged her off with a grunt and her reply was lost in a sudden surge of laughter from another party, amused by one of the items their Heavy Blade member had presented to them. Elk felt a vague sense of curiosity as they passed around a small item obscured from his view by the armor of a male Heavy Axeman. Disappointed, he sat down and fixed his eyes on the chaos gate, catching bits and pieces of conversations as other players passed him by, some with curious glances and others without so much as an acknowledgement of his presence.  
  
"I got some new armor! Level 14, a lot stronger than my old one!" one young man exclaimed, patting his chest proudly and beaming at his company. Elk guessed that they'd only been playing for a short period of time now. He and his team members emanated a haughty aura, the typical mark of a "newbie" who was still overconfident with his abilities.  
  
"Jitsuno said he'd meet us at the usual place in five minutes," said another, gazing off into space as she checked her e-mail for messages. Her partner steered her around several obstacles, for she was obviously paying no attention, and Elk couldn't help but smile.  
  
Something in the way they spoke made Elk's chest ache longingly. He wanted to find someone to keep him company for the rest of the afternoon, or to find some reason to log off and finish his homework for the upcoming Monday. He was having no such luck either way, with nothing more to look forward to than another day spent consumed by the jaws of self-pity. Alas, it was only Saturday, which only meant another day of wandering tomorrow.  
  
Others spoke of personal affairs, which Elk took no true interest in, as it made him feel like an interloper when he listened to those types of conversations. Gazing at the world with half-lidded eyes, he was on the verge of sleep when a harsh sound snapped him back to reality; somebody was calling him into their party, and he neglected to check the signature before acknowledging their request and running for the chaos gate. An adventure was an adventure, so long as he had company. With a strange sort of smile, and a slight bounce in his step, he whispered to himself that "One is such a lonely number".  
  
The level of the requested area was moderately high, a water area, and as he disintegrated into bits and pieces of code at the gate Elk began to wonder who it was who wished for his company. He reasoned, in an attempt to calm his dancing nerves, that his question would be answered soon enough.  
  
]---------------------------------------------[  
  
Snow. Hordes of snow, falling gingerly from a dark grey sky, as if tiny stars were trying to burst through the cloud cover. Structures stood near by, large frozen whales and arcs of solid rock, all covered by a blanket of pristine white and twinkling eerily as small beams of reflected moonlight hit their surface, peeking out from small gaps in the clouds. Underneath some sat White Cherries, a strange grunty item that resembled a cherry with a disturbing face. At the base of others were Elemental fires, glowing strong even as they were slowly covered in snow and icy water, drawing a strange sensation from Elk as he watched one of the flames flicker soundlessly only a few yards away. It might have seemed beautiful to anyone else, such tranquility and an atmosphere that suggested purity, but Elk couldn't seem to enjoy it.  
  
There were footprints in the snow, leading away from where Elk now stood in an almost-straight line. The tip of a small blade had dragged an obvious trail alongside the footprints, almost as if a long tail had been following its owner as they walked. The footprints were shallow and rushed, leading off into the distance so far that Elk couldn't make out where they ended. Curiosity aroused, he decided to follow the footprints in order to find the source, hoping to find Mia at the trail's end.  
  
The tracks seemed to lead the boy farther and farther into a snowy oblivion, each step taking him deeper into the wilderness and the flurry of silent activity, the snow now falling very heavily, obscuring both his footprints and the stranger's. His pathway back to the starting point was gone, leaving him with nothing to do but cling to his weapon and trudge ahead through banks of snow that came up to his ankles. The sky had darkened and, even though it was still early in the evening offline, the clouds had turned black as night. Elk felt tired and stopped to rest beside one of the elemental flame spirits, flickering soundlessly at his side but emitting no warmth to speak of.   
  
Sighing, Elk let himself study the elemental flame, his thoughts filled with wonder at its ethereal appearance. His eyes caressed the flames endearingly, pulling him into such a state that he failed to hear the soft footsteps that approached at his back, or his name being whispered as if added as an afterthought. Someone was coming closer, from the direction in which the footprints had led him, smiling and waving as the harsh sound of twin blades slicing through the air whistled around him, as much an echo of his presence as the trail of footprints that followed him.  
  
Elk was completely enthralled with the flickering flame. He didn't see the color rising in the cheeks of the approaching stranger, rose red against his pale skin, nor did he sense the presence of the other character until they had approached him cautiously and tapped his slight shoulder, demanding attention.  
  
"If I were a monster, you'd be dead right now!" came a vaguely serious, teasing voice. He was caught midway between a laugh and a frown at Elk's little-boy-lost expression.  
  
Snapped very quickly from his dreamy state, Elk cried out and spun around only to lock gazes with a large, curious pair of deep blue eyes, laced with laughter and mischief. One half of his face was partially obscured by his aquamarine hair, casting shadows that made him seem far older and more serious than he actually was. Triangular orange markings obscured the light blush the cold had brought to his cheeks. He was covered in blood and dirt, which meant that he'd been out battling until now, and his clothes were somewhat tattered. The orange hat that he wore was covered in snow and pulled down low over his face. Regardless, he was smiling as if unaware of the cold, awaiting Elk's reaction.  
  
"Kite!" The small wavemaster let out a long breath and returned the Twin Blade's smile. Now that he was sure of who had summoned him, and no longer wandering through the eerie darkness by himself, he felt more at ease. However, the tense atmosphere was replaced by one that was equally uncomfortable, if for different reasons, as Elk noticed the strange smile his friend wore and the way his eyes seemed to dart to and fro, focusing anywhere but on Elk. It would be better to ignore it, he concluded. Briefly wondering where Mia had gone today and sighing, disappointed that it had not been her who called him and yet pleased to see Kite all the same, Elk had to fight a funny tingling feeling in his stomach. Desperate to break the silence or the sudden feeling of being smothered, he giggled softly and turned to stare off into the distance. He obviously wanted Kite to initiate the conversation.  
  
Kite took a step back and cleared his throat. "Sorry you had to come find me. I didn't think you were coming, so I took off." He gestured in the direction he'd come from, leaving Elk to assume that he'd left to find some enemies to fight. In both hands rested a sharp blade, each with an extravagantly carved wooden hilt and metal blade that looked as though it could cut through anything at all. Trickles of blood rested on the handle of one, flowing in streams to its base, where it pooled and seeped into Kite's gloved fingers, as if it were bleeding itself. Having failed to notice it before, Elk was startled by how fatigued his friend seemed, imagining that he'd been fighting as furiously today as he had on their previous expeditions together.  
  
"It's no problem. It just meant more time to myself, that's all." Several things he could have tacked on to the end of that statement danced through his mind, but he brushed them away with an annoyed grunt. "By the way-" He didn't finish. He let the silence envelop him and was barely aware when Kite asked him to sit down and rest his legs.  
  
Kite took a seat in the snow, and Elk soon joined him. It was very uncomfortable, sitting in the icy cold and unable to see what was underneath the blanket of soft, white confection. Eyes lowered to the ground, making an effort to think of a conversation topic, Elk felt very awkward and tried not to let it show. When he glanced up he received a very sobering look from Kite, and hurried to occupy himself with other thoughts under the twin blade's penetrating gaze. Was he going to say something or not? The atmosphere suggested that he was eager to speak, but one couldn't tell by the way he was acting, staring off into space with tired blue eyes.  
  
"It's nice here," Elk blurted out, making a show of studying the surrounding area to appear as convincing as possible. "Do you like the snow, Kite? I do. I think that it's peaceful."  
  
Smiling, the Twin Blade glanced briefly at their surroundings and gave a curt nod. "It's very nice here," he breathed, focusing his attention on a break in the cloud cover that allowed a single ray of moonlight to shine through, bathing parts of the area in vague light. He shifted so that he could pick up a good-sized handful of snow to make a snowball, and gasped. His attention moved away from the scenery as he felt a deep pain run through the side of his hand, one of the battle wounds he'd failed to notice earlier, resting at the center of a cut in his gloves that had long since turned scarlet from absorbing the blood. He removed both blades and the glove carefully and set them in the snow, letting the crimson liquid pool in his palm and run off of the side, turning the snow a rusty scarlet color. Kite found it fascinating to watch, but Elk inhaled sharply and started to wring his hands nervously.  
  
"Kite... You're hurt..." The corners of the twin blade's mouth twitched slightly upwards, suppressing a giggle that was threatening to burst out for all the wrong reasons. Instead, he settled for taking a handful of snow to absorb the blood, holding it until it was completely soaked and then dropping it. He did his best to make sure that any cuss words that came to mind were directed inwardly, if only for Elk's sake. Watching Elk's concerned inspection of the red-stained snow, Kite lowered his head and ran his tongue over the wound, only to immediately regret the taste of the salty liquid as it ran down his throat, gagging him. This action drew a raucous giggle from the wavemaster, catching Kite's attention.  
  
Elk chided himself for laughing, but he had thought Kite had looked a good deal like a cat when he was licking the wound, which he found both curious and adorable. Wait.... Adorable? He pursed his lips and gave the Twin Blade another brief look, deciding that "adorable" was exactly the word to describe him. He looked utterly shocked and confused when he discovered that the blood had a less than pleasant taste, so out of his usual character that Elk found it cute.  
  
Glancing up at his companion with his head tilted to one side, Kite saw that Elk looked both distressed and amused. He'd never seen the wavemaster get so squeamish when enemies were killed, though it seemed an entirely different thing at the moment, and enemies didn't bleed when destroyed... With a start, he realized that the blood on his blade was his own, as obvious as that should have been. "I can't say that helped very much," Kite muttered, sticking out his tongue with a look of intense dissatisfaction and grabbing another handful of snow. "I guess I'm pretty clumsy, huh? Not noticing something like that."  
  
Despite the fact that the sight of blood made his stomach churn, Elk managed a low giggle. "Kite? You almost cut open your hand and didn't notice. That's not just clumsy." Kite's face blushed a magnificent red and he squeezed the handful of snow a bit harder, succeeding in nothing more than hurting himself again as the snow added pressure to his cut. He must have cried out, for the next thing he knew the timid wavemaster had grabbed his hand and pried it open, examining the cut with bulging eyes and his mouth formed into a small oval. His own hands rubbed against some of the blood, coating them with red, but he didn't seem to mind very much now that he'd seen the cut up close. Kite had long since stopped thinking about the cut as he felt Elk's hands on his own, wincing as the boy roughly shoved his hand back into the snow and proceeded to rip off a piece of his long skirt to use as a bandage.  
  
"I'm going to apologize in advance..." The sound that echoed around them, that of ripping cotton, was very aggravating.  
  
Kite gulped and furrowed his eyebrows. "Why...?"  
  
"Because this is probably going to hurt a bit." Elk laughed as he tried to touch the wound, only to have the Twin Blade pull away with the same fearful expression as that of a child going to the doctor's office for his booster shots. He gripped Kite's hand more firmly, pulling him back and leaving him to sit still and pout as the wavemaster attended to the wound. At some point Kite remembered to act concerned and made a show of wincing, whining, pulling away, and whatever else he felt he had to do. It was all to distract himself from focusing too heavily on Elk tying the ragged cloth around his hand, anyway.  
  
Had Elk not been paying so much attention to Kite's hand, he might have noticed that the orange-clad boy was appraising him with a wide-eyed, open-mouthed stare, which changed quickly as the Wavemaster tugged at the bandage and Kite had to purse his lips together to contain a bad word that threatened to escape. His mind was livid, repeating the word 'damnit' at a quick rate, rising into a harsh crescendo as the pain reached a new height before ebbing away to a dull pulse. He breathed a sigh of relief.  
  
Tying the makeshift bandage securely on Kite's hand, Elk looked up at his companion with a smile, as if to assure him that he was under no real threat of bleeding to death, especially since the wound was now properly taken care of. Kite only smiled back absently, contemplating the innocent Wavemaster's face before closing his eyes and bursting into laughter over the absurdity of what had just happened. Elk did not join in; in fact, he merely eyed the twin blade warily, as if he'd lost his mind. Kite's laughter subsided into what sounded an awful lot like the hiccups; he opened one eye to see why Elk had not joined in, and felt the color rise in his face. Any giggling came to an abrupt stop. The air around them was heavily laden with a serious, embarrassed feeling.  
  
"Maybe we should go now-" Elk was looking away, feigning interest in the bloodied snow lying near Kite's leg, and Kite took this opportunity to study his friend openly. His blue hair was tousled under his hat, which was sitting on a slant on top of his head. He peered out through red eyes that were widened instead of half-closed, which gave him a timid, forced look. The tattoos on his cheeks were smudged and looked messy, yet strangely endearing. Underneath, Kite could clearly see his cheeks flaming with color. After a moment or two Elk stood up, as did Kite, and they remained there in awkward silence.  
  
Kite wanted to squirm as the still moment lengthened, settling for tapping his foot against the packed down, snowy ground where they'd been sitting. He shivered with a combination of cold and nerves. He hoped that it was mostly from the nippy air.  
  
"I'm gonna go back to the root town," Elk stated, hesitating a good deal before turning around. He was stopped by Kite's hand on his shoulder, turning to meet him with a tremulous gaze that nonetheless seemed expectant and understanding. Neither said a word for the longest time; eventually, Kite reached out and wiped away a smudge of Elk's ruined face paint with his thumb, letting his hand linger a little too long before pulling it away. When the wavemaster realized what was happening, he gulped and giggled nervously, having no idea of how to react. There were too many feelings within him at the moment to express just one, so he tried to remain calm and unmoved, afraid that he might embarrass himself in front of Kite. He wouldn't let that happen if he could help it.  
  
He wanted to keep Kite's trust, not lose it over something trivial. The boy was a wonderful friend, and maybe... By the way he was acting right now, maybe he--  
  
"Thanks," Kite stated simply. He was smiling nervously and moving a bit closer, showing the same uncertainty. He rested his hands on Elk's shoulders and leaned further in. "You know..." He'd stopped smiling and met Elk's gaze with one that was serious to a fault, giving a moment's hesitation in order to think about what he was going to do. Elk saw his opportunity to escape; he didn't take it.  
  
"I guess you're going to find out why I invited you here, even though I wasn't planning on saying anything..." His voice was low, rushed, and Elk could barely make out what he was saying. "Since I couldn't think up words to describe it, I guess we'll just have to try something different. You in?"  
  
Elk gave a peal of nervous laughter. As if I have a choice on whether or not to stop this, he thought, chewing on the inside of his lip. Then again, even if he could have, would he actually stop it? He studied the Twin Blade with a thoughtful gaze. He felt Kite remove a hand from his left shoulder and use it to hold his face up by the chin, keeping him from fidgeting.  
  
The taller boy smiled weakly, the way someone does when they're still uncertain of their actions despite the fact that they're in too deep to do a thing about it. "Try to relax! You're shaking like a leaf. It's not like I'm going to hurt you, now, is it?" Elk, incapable of nodding due to Kite's firm grip on his chin, felt his eyes widening and guessed that he was starting to look as if he'd seen a ghost. He did the only thing he could think of to fight off the butterflies in his stomach -- he focused on Kite and the strange way he was behaving, analysing. There had to be at least one answer betrayed by how his companion was suddenly acting.  
  
At first, Elk noticed the various shades of Kite's eyes as he inched slowly forward. They were blue and wouldn't have looked extraordinary under any other circumstances, except for that they glistened with something indescribable. His eyes appeared glazed and uncertain, and at the same time infallible. Elk was very aware that the blood was draining from his face, could feel himself staring awkwardly up at the taller boy, his eyes fluttering nervously from point to point as he looked around for something to concentrate on.  
  
The markings on his cheeks were the next thing Elk noticed. Simple and effective, the orange triangles seemed to be there to prevent Elk from noticing whether or not he was blushing. Regardless, he liked them; so fitting of Kite's character, harsh and defining, and yet righteous and unwavering. Puzzled as to what to do with his hands, he placed one of them on one of the markings, and used the other to prop himself up against Kite's chest, taking a large handful of the orange fabric to steady himself. The ground might fall out from under his feet if he weren't careful; and you could never be too careful.  
  
He'd never been so close to anybody, as far as he could remember, and at first Kite's breath against his mouth confused him. He could smell the blood amongst other things, practically taste it himself, but it was an entirely new sensation. With Kite's face inches from his own, he closed his eyes and parted his lips while willing himself not to pull away, to get out of this uncomfortable situation once and for all. Kite could feel the wavemaster shuddering, and quickly bridged the gap between them, covering Elk's trembling lips with his own and considering how Elk's shaking had altogether ceased with that one action. He moved one hand to the base of his back to pull him a bit closer.  
  
Elk started at first, unsure of how to react, unsuccessfully trying to stifle the giddy feeling creeping through his body, and then submitting to it, letting it bloom. The two of them merely stood there, pressed together like two halves of a whole, and neither was too sure of what to do next. He soon discovered that the closer he pressed, the more dizzying the sensation became, and he moved very close to Kite as the Twin Blade smiled against his lips. He'd moved his other hand to the back of Elk's head, running his fingers through his hair and pulling him even closer. The magician blinked, letting down his guard and allowing the first shreds of self-doubt to seep in unbidden.  
  
Unable to stop himself, Elk made a noise halfway between a squeak and a moan, gripping the fabric of Kite's shirt tightly with one hand and breaking the contact by pulling away and resting his head on Kite's chest, panting softly. Another silence ensued, more tense than the last, but with a growing feeling of comfort between the two characters, a bond. "Kite...?" he asked shyly, staring into the bright orange fabric of the Twin Blade's shirt to distract himself. At first Kite didn't answer, far too caught up in his thoughts to pay any attention, but at length he mumbled some sort of acknowledgement and sucked in a deep breath as Elk wrapped his arms around his waist.  
  
"I thought you might leave after that," said Kite, sounding albeit relieved and smiling comfortably, eyes closed and cheek resting against the top of Elk's head. Putting a bit more thought into it, Kite concluded that if he'd been Elk he would have left by now, after perhaps beating the stuffing out of whomever it was who had tried to coddle him. He was absent-mindedly playing with the Wavemaster's hair, and upon realizing this he stopped and coughed nervously. Yeah, he would have left by now; he most certainly would have. What compelled Elk to stay? Needless to say it thrilled him, but after anticipating an ending that was the reverse of this, he didn't feel very guilty.  
  
Elk giggled uncertainly. "I thought I would, too." Despite how strangely calm he felt, he couldn't shake the feeling that was telling him to go, to forget what had just happened. He was caught within an inner quarrel of sorts, one side of his conscience arguing that this was wrong and he should just bail out now, the other rooting him to the spot and filling him with a warm, cozy feeling that meant everything was all right. He obviously felt himself leaning toward the positive outcome, which seemed to be moving closer to Kite, beckoning another wave of giddy intoxication. He couldn't help it. He sighed out loud, stopping short of letting out the rest of his breath when it caught in his throat and his face blanched, accompanied by a choked noise and the trademark widening of his eyes. What would Kite think if he didn't put up some sort of resistance? Any reluctance at all?  
  
"Elk." It wasn't a question; his tone was demanding and resolved. Elk acknowledged him by stirring a bit, waiting for Kite to speak. It seemed like a long time before either moved, and even then it was only due to the length of time they'd been standing, limbs beginning to ache. "If you're going to leave, go now, okay?" It was a strange request, the Wavemaster mused, snuggling closer in answer. If he'd said that even before their conversation had led into this, Elk might have consented and left to search for Mia some more, but he'd discovered someone who was very comfortable to lean against and didn't plan on leaving anytime soon. He had all night, after all, and his homework could finish itself tomorrow. Or the day after. Or next week. It didn't matter to him as much as this moment.  
  
Kite's body was starting to tense again. He was starting to drift back to reality, realizing the danger they'd put themselves in by failing to check for any stray enemies in the field.  
  
His face was obscured by his hat as he nuzzled into the other's hair; "It's okay to drop your guard sometimes, y'know? It's safe here." He was saying it more to himself than to Elk. Kite's eyes snapped open and frantically surveyed their surroundings, a habit he'd fallen into after witnessing Orca's fateful encounter with Skeith and adventuring with BlackRose, finding nothing to be afraid of. He'd never noticed it before, but the World posed no real threat to him unless they were dealing with the spreading chaos, and now was not one of those times. He slowly relaxed, letting his grip on Elk tighten, to the Wavemaster's delight. All of his doubts disappearing, he leaned down and kissed Elk again, quickly and without much thought put into the action.  
  
"Kite?" This time Elk had a question, one he wanted answered right away for some peace of mind. At Kite's acquiscence, Elk drew a breath and smirked a bit. "Can you tell me why?" There was no answer on Kite's part, and he repeated it again, his voice laced with anxiety: "Kite? Tell me why." Sure, he'd come to know the Twin Blade fairly well over the past while, but this incident had seemingly come out of nowhere. Didn't he have a right to know why his friend was suddenly cradling him like something precious he'd lost and later found?  
  
"Why?" He echoed, his voice monotonous. "Because I wanted to see all sides of you, not just when you're sad or trying to hide something from me. So I realized that I'd have to offer you the same from myself, which led me to the conclusion that-" He laughed in the way that Elk had always found oh-so-suiting of him, pulling out of the little Wavemaster's embrace and framing his face with his hands. "Well, first it helped me realize that I wanted to be sure of what I was thinking, which drove me to invite you here."  
  
Elk pouted cutely, waiting eagerly for him to get to the point.  
  
"No matter how many times I told myself that what I was feeling was just infatuation, I had to come here. But I lost my nerve and took off, planning to go on another dungeon adventure if you caught up." He was grinning modestly, scratching at his head with the hand that wasn't injured, and turning a deeper shade of red with each word. "Man, saying this makes me feel like... Well, I'm not quite sure, but being sappy and emotional sucks. I'm no good at this."  
  
"You're not that bad at it, actually. Er, I... I had no idea you felt that way... This is new." A raspy giggle; he inclined his head to one side, his smile teasing and his eyes half-closed. 'Bedroom eyes', as Mia called them, referring to how he looked half-asleep, yet also making reference to something he didn't quite understand (though when she went into a tangent on "Pillow talk" he'd made a point of distancing himself from her, physically). She thought it would be scandalous if he actually opened his eyes the entire way for once, if only to show that he trusted someone that much and wasn't trying to hide. What else could he do? He'd leaned over and given her a good whack on the head with his staff. At least it had brought this bedroom nonsense to a stop.  
  
"What would you know?" Kite wrinkled his nose, feigning a miffed expression.  
  
Elk chewed on his bottom lip thoughtfully, stopping only long enough to lick his lips. "Well..."  
  
The only response Kite could muster was an indignant grunt and a sly smile.  
  
.  
  
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